GamePark GP2X Wiz gaming handheld now available, for real

[Thanks, Conrad]
gamepark posts


Be still our hearts! After months upon months (upon months) of waiting, the tight-knit team behind the ultra-potent Pandora gaming handheld has finally divulged the information we've been clamoring for: the ARM Cortex A8-powered device will begin shipping before Christmas 2008 for £199.99 in the UK. The first batch will consist of 3,000 units, and the team is hoping that all of those will be sold out before the first one leaves the dock. There's no word on how costly it'll be for Americans, though we're crossing our fingers that it'll sell for a few bucks less than the $360 we find when simply converting pounds to dollars.
Not much else to say beyond the title of this one -- MWeston has recently confirmed over at the GP32X boards that Bluetooth will indeed be included on the forthcoming Pandora mega-emulator. He noted that BT was added because of an exceptional deal they landed and to "make competing devices look that much less interesting." Right, so what exactly is this bundle of awesomeness competing against exactly? 


Word's been a little slow reaching our shores, but it appears that GamePark couldn't stand up to the competition from its GamePark Holdings spin-off, with the former company recently declaring bankruptcy and its website now ignominiously replaced by a shoe store. For those in need of a quick primer, GamePark is the company that brought us the original GP32 (pictured above) and, more recently, announced a number of different XGP handhelds. GamePark Holdings, on the other hand, emerged as a separate company after an apparent spat among GamePark employees about the direction of the company. Those that chose to defect quickly got their act together and delivered the more-popular GP2X device, presumably to the dismay of GamePark proper. While they don't appear to have made any comment on this latest development, we can only assume they're feeling a little bit vindicated, and no doubt celebrated with a bit of homebrew champagne.










